Sravasti Abbey, about 10 miles south of Newport on the Washington-Idaho border, is the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the U.S. for both nuns and monks. Venerable Thubten Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, founded the abbey for other American Buddhist disciples.

The abbey is on the side of a small mountain. When it first opened in 2003, there weren’t enough students to hold regular teachings.

Now, there are dozens of red-robed monastics studying dharma in the middle of rural Eastern Washington. And it doesn’t stop there. There’s enough local interest in courses, retreats, teachings and services that the abbey needed more space.

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People from all over the country — and all over the world — sent money to build Sravasti Abbey’s new Buddha Hall. It’s a community gathering space with holy scrolls, temple drums and enough space to fit more than a hundred people.

The abbey held a dedication ceremony for the new hall on Sept. 1. Venerable Thubten Semkye gave the first comments, quoting the abbey’s founder.

“I keep thinking, we’re in this little corner of Washington state, in a corner of the U.S., on planet Earth, which is a speck of dust in the huge universe, and we’re asking all the Buddhism bodhisattvas to come here. Like — who in the world are we?” she said. “Well, there must be something going on. And it has to do with spreading the teachings on wisdom and compassion."

Nuns joked that the construction project, which took eight years, seemed like a miracle. After all, Sravasti Abbey is named after an ancient Indian city famous for miracles that Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha performed there.

But Chodron, the abbey’s founder, said the Buddha Hall was no miracle.

“It’s actually a dependent arising, dependent on all of you, also … so this is a Buddha Hall that is really for everybody, because everybody together created it.”

“Dependent arising” is a core teaching of Buddhism that says everything flows out of something else. The hall, Chodron said, is the result of innumerable good deeds coming together and creating something new, which is also the mission of the abbey.

“As our brand says, we are trying to create peace in a chaotic world. So things went along with our brand. The last year has been more chaotic than when we started building the Buddha Hall,” she said. “So our job is to keep on talking about forgiveness, compassion, wisdom, generosity, ethical conduct.”

The ceremony included teaching from Serkong Rinpoche, who is recognized by Buddhists as the reincarnation of a Tibetan Buddhist master by the same name.

Participants also sang a rewritten version of the American national anthem that Venerable Thubten Chonyi introduced.

“We will conclude this part with the dedication we call Star Spangled Compassion,” Chonyi said. “It is both a sincere wish from Chapter 10 of Shanti Deva’s guide to Bodhisattva’s way of life, along with a heartfelt wish that we follow our intent to root the Dharma here in this country strongly and that we purify as much as we possibly can, a nation leading from the place of kindness and compassion.”

About 100 people attended the dedication ceremony. There were plenty of gray hairs, but also many young people sitting cross-legged on the floor. The hall already seemed full — of bodies, intentions and voices.

Eliza Billingham name is a reporter with Spokane Public Radio. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/18/buddhism-eastern-washington/